US "breaching human rights of domestic violence victims"

More reporting on the U.N. and the Gonzales case. Dad SIMON GONZALES abducted his daughters and eventually killed them. The mom called the local police 7 times to enforce her protection order, and they totally blew her off.

http://www.channel4.com/news/us-breaching-human-rights-of-domestic-violence-victims

US 'breaching human rights of domestic violence victims'
 Tuesday 23 August 2011

The United Nations says the United States must reassess how it protects victims and punishes perpetrators of domestic violence. Channel 4 News investigates.

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on violence against women has urged the United States to re-examine its current policies on dealing with violence against women.

It's a huge embarrassment for a nation which considers itself to be among the most equal in the world - and the kind of slap on the wrist that the UN normally administers to nations with dismal human rights records.

"Violence against women is the most pervasive human rights violation which continues to challenge every country in the world, and the US is no exception," said the UN's Rashida Manjoo.

Women's rights

The UN's criticism comes after a United States human rights panel found the US Government responsible for human rights violations in the case of Jessica Lenahan (previously Gonzales).

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the Government fell short of its international obligations when it failed to enforce a restraining order against Ms Lenahan's then husband, Simon Gonzales.

On 22 July 1999, Ms Lenahan made seven calls over seven hours to the police in Colorado when her estranged, abusive husband abducted her three daughters, aged 7, 8, and 10. Despite the restraining order against Mr Gonzales, no action was taken.

Early the following morning, Mr Gonzales drove to the police station and began shooting. He was shot dead by police, who then found the bodies of the couple's three daughters, with gunshot wounds, in the back of his truck.

Women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, Meghan Rhoad, told Channel 4 News the case was very significant.

"It's a huge case and I hope it will be recognised by policy makers. I think we tend to take for granted that the US has made major gains in women's rights and particularly in violence against women, but this is calling for us to reassess what this actually means in women's lives on a daily basis.

"How much progress have we really made when a woman can call the police seven times over seven hours to get a restraining order enforced and that doesn't happen, and her children are killed?"

UN call

The US human rights body called for a review of the case as well as recommending wider steps for the US Government, including making enforcement of protection orders mandatory. In a report, the UN has gone even further, suggesting the failure should lead to a much deeper rethink of the US Government's attitude towards domestic violence cases.

"The US Government should reassess existing mechanisms for protecting victims and punishing offenders, and establish meaningful standards for enforcement of protection orders and impose consequences for a failure to enforce them," said Ms Manjoo, who went on a fact-funding mission to the US earlier this year.

She added: "In my discussions with government officials, victims, survivors and advocates including Jessica Lenahan, I found a lack of substantive protective legislation for domestic violence victims in the United States, as well as inadequate implementation of certain laws, policies and programmes."

Ms Manjoo said there was little in terms of "federally binding" provisions to protect women against domestic violence, or to prevent the acts in the first place.

She concluded: "State inaction towards cases of violence against women fosters an environment of impunity and promotes the repetition of violence."

Human Rights Watch's Ms Rhoad said the negative publicity - as well as the fact that the US is currently re-authorizing its landmark Violence Against Women Act - was a "gathering storm" that she hoped would elevate the issue in the public consciousness.

"As much progress as has been made, we still have to keep educating about the Government's responsibility to stop violence, whether it is happening on the street or inside someone's home," she said.

Officials at the United States mission to the UN were not immediately available to comment when contacted by Channel 4 News.

The US is the only developed nation not to have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

International human rights group takes up case of kids murdered by father; mom's restraining order ignored by police (Castle Rock, Colorado)

Those with long memories may remember this case. Dad SIMON GONZALEZ murdered his three young daughters back in 1999. The mother had already secured a restraining order against her ex-husband, but the police refused to enforce it. Daddy was later killed by the police when he fired gunshots through the police department's window. The mother's attempts to get justice in the U.S. have been unsuccessful. Now the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has published its merits report on this case--and it is scathing.

Hat tip to E. for finding this.

http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2011/92-11eng.htm

PRESS RELEASE

N° 92/11

IACHR PUBLISHES REPORT ON CASE JESSICA LENAHAN OF THE UNITED STATES

Washington, DC, August 17, 2011 – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) made public today its merits report on Case No. 12.626, Jessica Lenahan (formerly Jessica Gonzales), United States, related to the duties of the State to respond to situations of domestic violence with diligent protection measures.

Jessica Lenahan, a victim of domestic violence along with her daughters Leslie, Katheryn and Rebecca Gonzales, ages 7, 8 and 10, obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband from the Colorado Courts in May 21, 1999. Not knowing the whereabouts of her daughters, Jessica Lenahan had eight contacts with the Castle Rock Police Department during the evening of June 22, 1999 and the morning of June 23, 1999. In each of her telephone calls and discussions with the police agents, she requested efforts to locate her daughters and she informed them that she possessed a protection order against Simon Gonzales. Her contacts were met with a police response that was fragmented, uncoordinated and unprepared, and it did not respect the terms of the restraining order. That morning, Simon Gonzales drove his pick-up truck to the Castle Rock Police Department and fired shots through the window. There was an exchange of gunfire with officers from the station in the course of which he was fatally wounded and killed. The deceased bodies of the three girls were found in his truck.

The restraining order was the only means available to Jessica Lenahan at the state level to protect herself and her children in a context of domestic violence, and the police did not effectively enforce it. The state apparatus was not duly organized, coordinated, and ready to protect these victims from domestic violence by adequately and effectively implementing the restraining order. These failures to protect constituted a form of discrimination in violation of the American Declaration, since they took place in a context where there has been a historical problem with the enforcement of protection orders; a problem that has disproportionately affected women since they constitute the majority of the restraining order holders.

The Commission established that the State did not duly investigate the complaints presented by Jessica Lenahan before the death of her daughters. The State also failed to investigate the circumstances of their deaths once their bodies were found. Consequently, their mother and their family live with this uncertainty, and the law enforcement officers in charge of implementing the law have not been held accountable for failing to comply with their responsibilities.

The Commission encourages the United States to comply with the recommendations contained in the Merits Report, which include to conduct a serious, impartial and exhaustive investigation into systemic failures that took place related to the enforcement of Jessica Lenahan’s protection order, to reinforce through legislative measures the mandatory character of the protection orders and other precautionary measures to protect women from imminent acts of violence, and to create effective implementation mechanisms, among others.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.